Also from Zoxell: These are the Voyages

Daniel Noah Shays is a human, born on Earth to a hard-working agriculturalist couple in the South Carolina back-country. Dan’s father was a farmer, as was his father’s father, going back hundreds of years. The world had moved past agriculture a long time ago. Having eliminated food shortages and hunger with the onset of replication technology, food growers on Earth were no longer necessary. This fact did not diminish the demand for fresh, organic vegetables, eggs, dairy, and meat, however.

Search for:

Chapter 9.4 – Hunger

Adam doesn’t remember much after finding Makayla, or even going to the hospital.

The one thing he does recall, however, is another memory about that cute, silvery-haired girl. Much like the other memories he’s had of her, this one only lasted a little while. But there was one important difference. He’d never been able to talk to her before. And this time, he could. Her name is Kacey, and she had told him she was afraid of her weird brother.

But was it a memory? Or was it a dream? It felt interactive, like he’d actually been there, experiencing it.

The gash on Adam’s head had bled a lot. But when doctors are finally able to treat his injury, there isn’t much to treat. Doctors are more concerned that Makayla had over-exaggerated the extent of the injury. But she was not imagining things. The only explanation (which she obviously does not share with doctors) is that Adam’s body had already repaired much of the damage by itself. Adam returns home with Makayla with little more than sticker for his trouble. And of course, ice-cream.

—

Spending quality time alone with Luke and Makayla together is a very rare treat for Adam. He enjoys the opportunity while Noah is at school. Both adults do a lot of talking. It’s mostly about when Adam was a baby. Luke talks a lot about Anna, and how she loved spending time with Adam before she was taken away ten years ago.

Adam can sense immediately when the topic of conversation is about to change to “the accident”. He shares the few details he can remember. He was sound asleep when Noah came into his room to frighten him out of bed with a prank. They started yelling at each other, as usual. But then Noah poked Adam in the chest and started saying stuff about Makayla. Adam swung first, and landed a couple really good punches. He’s not sure how, but they ended up wrestling and figthing into the hallway. Then the next thing Adam remembers is Noah shoving him down the stairs.

Makayla kisses Adam on the forehead and looks him directly in the eyes. Then asks him, very gently, how he was able to find her.

Adam hesitates, losing himself in thought. He remembers hitting his head and being really scared. He knew right away it was bad. All he wanted at that moment was Kay. Then he just went to her.

As Adam begins to verbalize his thoughts, he hears a very familiar sound. It’s the voices again; the ones that have been with him from the very beginning. Brilliant, golden light erupts around him as he feels the weight of feathery wings manifesting on his back. Being somewhat unprepared for this revelation, Adam’s eyes dart between Luke and Makayla. And then, quite suddenly, he understands something very important.

He is different…

Adam lays awake in his bed, late that night, contemplating what had happened today. After the startling discovery, he and his parents sat together, spontaneously hugging and laughing. It finally felt like what real families are supposed to do. But unfortunately, Noah eventually came home from school. And he scowled silently at Adam all through dinner and up until bedtime.

He’s not surprised at all when his bedroom door quietly eases open. The safety of his bedroom is not enough to prevent chill-bumps from raising on his skin when Noah’s mocking and sinister voice drips into the dark room. Tell me how you did that.

Noah emerges from the shadows, his green eyes blazing in the darkness. He repeats his demand to know how Adam was able to find Makayla. Adam sniffs defiantly and dismisses his unstable brother, stating that it is none of his business. Noah scowls again, and states that is completely his business. He’d always known that Adam was some kind of freak. But he had no idea that he could be a useful freak. He points demeaning finger at Adam and accuses him of being a brainless idiot. Adam can feel his anger seeping up again, but he swallows it and tells Noah to leave. Noah ignores him and continues.

He conjures up his best condescending tone and asks if Adam had ever considered the possibility that he would be able to go to their REAL mother in the same way he went to Makayla…

Hunger.

It is the only real weapon she has to use against them. It may have been weeks already; but it’s impossible to tell when she ate her last meal. They’re not even human enough to notice. All they care about is her knowledge regarding the experiment Luke destroyed.

Well, they’re not going to get it…

She had been at death’s door once already, and she is very close again. It is a last, desperate bid to protect her family for a little while longer. Her only regret is that she will be unable to warn Adam …and Luke…

His name forms as a whisper on her parched lips for what might be the last time. A small twinge of jealousy tugs at her gut. She’d seen how well he and Makayla had meshed together. There were times after the boys were born that she’d felt like she was on the outside looking in. There is no doubting Luke’s loyalty or love for his wife. But she’s only served the first few months of her bogus fifty-year sentence. It cannot be easy for him. The slightest smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. Makayla has been a blessing. And she’ll be a loving wife for Luke. She just prays that her sacrifice will afford them some intimacy before…

…before the end.

Her thoughts wander to Adam, the son she birthed but could never have conceived. It all revolves around him. Thinking about it, the whole thing smacks of some half-baked science-fiction saga. Two warring, alien races bringing their fight to a tiny speck of a town on an impossibly innocuous, little world. And now she gets to die protecting the last, living member of the “good guys” from a murderous contingent of “bad guys”. She laughs out loud into her disgustingly dingy cell. Maybe all the drugs she took in the past have finally cooked her brain, and she’s just hallucinating the whole thing.

Pain grips at her insides; a signal that her body is cannibalizing itself for sustenance. Death cannot be far away.

She calms as a burst of radiant, golden light floods her sickly accommodations. The sound of singing angels accompanies the light. Her heart races in anticipation. But then a sudden realization strikes. She knows those voices. They had sung out into the cosmos during her entire pregnancy. And the warm, golden light is the hallmark of Adam’s glowing wings.

She’d suspected he was powerful. But she had no idea he would be able to do this sort of thing so soon, and at such a young age.

Her vision has been ravaged by starvation. Still, she sees two tiny sim shapes emerge from the fading, golden light. One has shining, silvery hair – Adam? And the other possesses her own penetrating, green eyes – Noah!?

The sim with shining sliver hair shouts ecstatically and races toward her. His embrace causes her to wince in pain, but she ignores it. She kneels to his level and brings his face close. He looks just like Luke. And there’s something else. The boys appear to be at the cusp of their teens. But that’s impossible. They should be no more than three years-old. She’s only been here a few months… hasn’t she? There’s no time to worry about it now.

The presence behind Adam’s powerful eyes conveys an intelligence and wisdom far beyond his youthful exterior. He can sense that she is about to die. She sits with her back against the filthy wall and reaches out for Noah. His intense, green eyes widen in horror. Then he cowers away; as though repulsed by the thought of hugging such a sickly looking creature. Sensing her disappointment, Adam holds on tighter. Anna cries out as pain racks her body. Then her breathing begins to shallow.

She pulls Adam closer, whispering to him everything she has learned. His face remains expressionless until the end, when Anna’s breath becomes faint. Life fades from brilliant, green eyes and her final words linger on unmoving lips.

Post navigation

11 thoughts on “Chapter 9.4 – Hunger”

:O! ANNA! Nooo! Well…at least she was able to see Adam and Noah. But really, Noah? He didn’t want to hug his own mother? Little brat…
But how would Makayla marry Luke? Aren’t they cousins? Or are they far-off cousins?

The kid is pure evil, and he had is own reasons for wanting to see Anna. They were not wholesome, to be sure 😉
Makayla is some kind of distant relation (second cousin, once removed … I think). Their common ancestor is Faith, and she was Luke’s great-grandmother. The game does not register them as relatives, but if you click around, you can get from one to the other. We’ll just have to see how things work out.

Noah is an evil, little snot. His reasons for wanting to see Anna were purely selfish. Considering she was in prison, I think he was expecting to find somebody more like himself. Finding out she was “Good” just made him mad, lol!

Nooo!!! I have caught up to your history and now I’m dying to know more! XD
And yeah, I found this last night while random Googling Sims3 Legacies for a kick;I can certainly assure you I did not expect to be suddenly hooked and reeled in so easily (dang those Barimen fishermen genes, huh?!) that I would spend probably around 12 hours catching up on this all.

I eagerly await for more updates, and god Noah you’re like the reincarnation of Corwin or something. D:

I also have to applaud you, for while religion is a coming and going topic here you have managed to pull it off in such a way that it’s not preachy at all. I’m neither devoted to any type of religion, nor deny them either, but I have always believed in the possibility of other entities outside our own. Live treating others how you’d like to be treated has been a motto in my life since a very young age, and I couldn’t help but also be drawn back again and again by your use of all those caring and good qualities along the story.

Really, I would entice you to one day polish this thing up into an actual novel as a whole, I honestly think it could be quite a best-seller with little doubt.

Thank you so much! I’m glad you found the story!
It has been a challenge keeping the religious themes subdued and still convey the concept of biblical entities inhabiting my story. Believe it or not, the Barimen family is modeled from one of my favorite TV shows – Bonanza. LOL!
I appreciate your encouragement! But I just write captions for pictures. I couldn’t imagine having to describe every last detail. I am in awe of authors who can do that, and draw the reader into their world 🙂

Pshhh, your captions are already sometimes quite descriptive. Don’t sell yourself short man, I bet you could write a book no problem at all. Remember, the biggest part to drawing someone into a story is spinning a fantastic tale; a bunch of adjectives don’t draw the mind in as much. Readers can always fill up those gaps well enough. ;D

Littleskitty has a point and a damn good one Zox I’ve always known you’ve had the spirit of an author in you and your legacy is proof of just that I wholeheartedly agree with getting your legacy converted into a novel and perhaps a movie at some point in the future 🙂 I’ve always and will always be Zox’s biggest fan and I’ll continue to read anything you feel to share. 🙂

Zoxell

Up Next: Part 21 – ??

August 20, 2017
Van and Benita finally begin to heal their relationship and discover that their friendship does, indeed, have a much more complicated component. Big things await our embattled couple.
Next up – Frightening news from Area 15 is accompanied by a surprise visit from an old friend. Also, Benita receives help from a very unexpected source.